What's Exciting at Rick's Real Foods?

Recently, the Rick's Rub team traveled to Izamal, in the Mexican state of Yucatan, for a family wedding. Unbeknownst to us, this trip would not only be our first meeting with our new Mexican family, but also prove to be a culinary adventure and inspiration for new meal ideas!When Canadians imagine mexican food, it is usually the Tex-Mex version from the southern U.S., consisting of hard tacos, chilis, and massive burritos. What we had encountered was fresh, made with love, and perfected through generations of Mayan traditions. Izamal is a quaint town about 3 hours from Cancun, but not filled with tourists so we got to see REAL Mexico, where everyone goes to work, visits with friends and family, and celebrates everything. We were greeted with the beautiful aromatics of the many street food vendors offering tacos, tortas, fresh fruit, and cola in glass bottles! One of the many surprising quirks about small-town Mexico is that no one eats supper until at least 8pm when the temperature is a tad more accommodating. There were many late-night meals to be had in Izamal, including amazing street tacos served 4 or 5 to a plate, using freshly made corn tortillas, shredded pork, and onions, with plenty of lime juice and hot sauce to customize these delicious little morsels. I know there were a few nights where I had more than my fair share of tacos in our group.

Street tacos

One of the dishes that has definitely made an impression on our family was homemade Cochinita Pibil by a new family member. This is a traditional Mayan dish using pork covered in spices, wrapped in banana leaves, and cooked in a pit until the pork can be shredded with a fork. We ate this fabulous meal on tortillas with a purple onion relish on top. This will definitely be one meal we will try to recreate at home (minus the pit, of course).During the tour of a local home, we were able to spy fresh fruits in the garden that we only see in their under-ripened state in our local Canadian grocery store. Unfortunately, nothing was quite ready for sampling, but maybe for our next visit. See the gallery below to spot the fingerling bananas, papayas, and young coconuts.Now, what is a trip to Mexico without sampling some of the national drink? Not a fun trip! Our group "sampled" many brands of tequila during our stay in Mexico and the overwhelming consensus is that it is much better drinking it in Mexico than in Canada! Like beer or wine, tequila has different flavour profiles from the various regions and the aging process. Instead of throwing back a shot accompanied by salt and a slice of lime, this tequila can be sipped without all the burn, or mixed into a whole variety of different drinks; a much more civilized experience. Don't worry, the only bottles with the worm (or scorpion) are found in the tourist shops, seen in Cancun, to take home to unsuspecting family members as souvenirs.We are always working on new varieties of Rick's Rub for the many delicious dishes in the world, so try Rick's Rub Heat, which can easily be added to enhance the spice in your favourite Mexican dishes. We have heard from many ex-pats in Mexico that they stock Rick's Rub in their pantry for easy meals when the temperature spikes! Keep checking back as we are about to launch two new very exciting Rick's Rub flavours in the coming weeks!